Local groups bring low-cost PrEP clinic to Orlando

Uninsured and underinsured Central Floridians at high risk of HIV will soon have access to a low-cost PrEP clinic, where they can get prescriptions for a preventive daily medication that lowers their chances of getting infected.

The clinic is at Two Spirit Health Services, a nonprofit LGBT-friendly clinic in Orlando at 801 N. Magnolia Ave., that provides medical and mental health services. The clinic will be open on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. starting on Feb. 22. The cost of the visit, including the HIV test and all necessary procedures, is $30.

It is one of the first PrEP clinics to the area and follows a federal initiative that's led to opening of such clinics in San Francisco, Miami and New York.

PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, helps prevent an HIV-negative person from getting infected with the virus. The drug that is currently approved for PrEP is called Truvada, and its efficacy is backed by several clinical trials.

But in order to get the medication, individuals have to see a health-care provider who assesses their risk of getting infected and their commitment to the daily regimen. They also have to have several tests done. The drug-maker Gilead Pharmaceuticals offers a payment assistance program, but the process before getting the prescription can be costly for those who don't have insurance.

Dr. David Baker-Hargrove, president and CEO of Two Spirit, was initially approached with the idea of creating the low-cost clinic by leaders at Hope and Help Center of Central Florida, one of the HIV/AIDS service organizations here, and he jumped on it. He had recently received a $270,000 grant from the state to help uninsured and underinsured individuals get access to health services, and the clinic fit his mission.

"It would be crazy not to do it," he said. "To be able to help people avoid getting HIV and taking away financial barriers is phenomenal."

To receive services at the clinic, individuals have to sign a letter stating that they don't have a third party insurance. The program does not do a financial check.

The clinic has also struck a deal with Quest Diagnostics to offer discounted lab work. Hope and Help, meanwhile, is helping with marketing and advertising of the program. Individuals can also go to The Center and Miracle of Love to get free STD testing. "It's really a community project," said Lindsay Kincaid who works with Hope and Help.

Having an LGBT-friendly clinic like Two Spirit can also take away the stigma that resistance that some might face when asking for PrEP.

After moving to Orlando, Joe Sivoli had to persuade his primary-care doctor to write him the prescription. The doctor, he said, at first recommended abstinence. Then, on his insistence, looked up the medication, and eventually agreed to write him the prescription.

"To me it's very similar what birth control does for women. I'm still super protected and I don't use it as a substitute for protection," said Sivoli, 46, who has been taking Truvada for almost a year.

Two Spirit is holding an open house for its new clinic on Feb. 15 from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. For more information, call 407-487-9868.